I’ve always liked challenges while creating stories. In my children's book, TONY'S BUTTERFLIES, I was challenged to create a book about the sensitive subject of death while keeping it kid friendly. After that book, I wanted to tackle the subject of mental health since it’s a personal subject for me. The challenge of trying to tell a story about mental health in a three-and-a-half-minute short seemed like a difficult story that would be fun to create. So I chose the next project: THE HAPPY STATUE.

THE HAPPY STATUE was my first short film, and I knew absolutely nothing about the steps needed to create it. But I knew I wanted to do whatever I could to bring it to life. I wanted to show I could do more than just books and that my passion will take me further.

I wanted to create this film, too, because I also suffer from mental health issues. I have dealt with depression since I was a senior in high school, so I wanted this story to help those suffering from depression and mental health so they wouldn’t feel as alone as those issues can make one feel. Mental health is becoming a topic that people are opening up about more, and I hope my film can help further that.

THE HAPPY STATUE is my first animated short film. In the film, the Happy Statue appears to be strong and confident until a young girl notices that the statue is hiding its true feelings. The girl doesn’t want to see the statue suffer any longer, so she finds something that she can do to help the statue every day. I was very adamant about the ending scene because I wanted this short to really connect with people’s feelings and show how easy it can be to fight mental health issues when we support and help each other instead of judging. The final scene ends with rhyming lines in a dark park being lit up by a single light on each statue that has given multiple people tears in their eyes, including me.

Making Connections on Stage 32

I obviously couldn't have successfully made this short film without the connections I made through Stage 32. I connected with Tony Pham through the Animation Lounge on Stage 32. I had just written out my animated short when I took to Stage 32 to figure out who to connect with or how to get my animated short idea animated. I posted on my page a few times, I tried connecting and chatting with people from the Animation Lounge, and I posted in the Animation Lounge.

Eventually, I started connecting with a few animators on the website and had three people mention that I should reach out to Tony Pham to have him do the animation. The fact that multiple people referenced Tony specifically and spoke highly of him was the main reason I chose him to animate my film. We spent a few months going over everything and planning it out, I had some voice actors record for the film, and the rest is history.

I am very thankful to Tony for everything he did for me and all the advice and information he gave me along the way because I’m still new to all of this and trying to learn as much as I can. I hope to work with Tony again in the future on a second project.

Next Steps

Right now, I have some ambitious dreams for the future. First off, I am submitting THE HAPPY STATUE to several film festivals. I’m hoping to use my animated short as a way to show producers and animation companies what I can do and get that shot to wow audiences on a big screen. I’ve been working with another connection I made on Stage 32, Rob Jones, and we’ve been working together on a screenplay for an animated feature film that I believe will compare to MONSTERS INC., WALL-E, and THE CROODS. It will include nature vs. a cold metal world with a mental health kicker and, of course, some cool creatures and robots. We’re working on the first draft and doing our tweaks and changes while getting some character concepts set up, so we’re all ready to start pitching the idea come 2023.

After that, Rob and I have plans to continue writing screenplays for animated feature films and have two additional ideas sitting aside. One of those will be a medieval story about a confused wizard trying to be what he thinks he should be, and the other will be about a power struggle between some magical wolves and gorillas with Celtic inspiration.

I have a few other projects in the works that are not film related, like releasing my 16th and 17th children’s picture books in 2023.

As you can tell, I have a lot going on, but I love telling stories and don’t plan to stop anytime soon. My ultimate goal is to quit my job as an Electrician and focus on writing and creating stories each day. I’ve always told my family and friends how much more I could create if I could add forty hours a week into creating stories. My passion has taken me from knowing nothing about writing a book or storytelling to now having an animated short, fifteen picture books, and on the cusp of soliciting an animated feature film in just seven years.

I was told when I first started that it usually takes about ten years for an author to start seeing some progress and success. I can’t wait to see where I’ll be in another three years.

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