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It\u2019s not unusual that a young kid would prefer to engage in activities like frolicking on the family home’s tire swing and croaking merrily along with frogs in the yard than be pushed headfirst into a world of competitive sportsmanship. With \u2018Sierra\u2019 (production: AAA Creative) Estonian animation director Sander Joon<\/a> brings us into his semi-autobiographical world that starts with this premise and continues with the boy\u2019s father shoving him into none other than the world of race car driving, with the young kid literally at the wheel. This personal and playful short was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2023 in the Animated Short Film category after picking up a slew of awards on the festival circuit, including prizes at Tallinn Black Nights<\/a>, Animateka<\/a>, San Francisco International Film Festival, AFI Fest, and Palm Springs International ShortFest.<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s persistent, mustachioed father forces his dreams and a motorsports helmet on his young child, tossing him headfirst into a 1-v-1 race car rally of Mario Kart-physics proportions. With the child driving, the vehicles jump about on the track so quickly that the father\u2019s perfectly manicured facial hair springs right off of his face. Joon makes full use of his world\u2019s gravity-defying physics, where spectators roll around like car tires or perch in a tree like a flock of birds, combined with laugh-out-loud absurdist humor to maintain a light-hearted feel despite its darker, sadder message.<\/p>\n The filmmaker also draws from a 1980 black-and-white, stop-motion 16mm race car animation created by his father, Heikki Joon<\/strong>, which the filmmaker inventively embeds into the film and mirrors through the story\u2019s \u2014 and race car\u2019s \u2014 twists and turns. In doing so, he furthers this meta-narrative that engages with the well-intentioned nature of dreams pushed onto the next generations \u2014 and living vicariously through one\u2019s children \u2014 which ultimately is bound to have adverse effects.<\/p>\n The animator nails a distinct and memorable style that remains joyful on the eye through the end, contrasting more detailed characters with gently textured pastel-colored backgrounds and environments. The adorable, silly, and brightly colored green frogs introduced at the start of the film \u2014 representing the son\u2019s desire to play and simply exist as a child \u2014 is one of the most vividly hued aspects of the film, while the father\u2019s fixation, his precious car, is depicted in a contrasting bright red.<\/p>\n