Cephalopods are having a good week. First there were the squid kids of Splatoon!, which is getting very favorable reviews. Now there’s this adorable animated short that finds a plucky octopus attempting to help a man find his lost engagement ring in the depths of the ocean. Taking The Plunge—created by Thaddaeus Andreades, Marie Raoult, Nicholas Manfredi, and Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, with music by Jerome Leroy—is an incredibly darling short film that is able to get across a lot of emotion and characterization without a single word of dialogue.
The group made the film in their last year at the School Of Visual Arts in New York City. Taking The Plunge is faintly reminiscent of 2007’s Oktapodi, as both feature cute octopi, love, and a struggle for survival. But beyond those surface similarities, it is an original creation with some excellent imagery and very sweet moments.
Taking the Plunge from Taking The Plunge on Vimeo.