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World of Tomorrow
A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future. Originally conceived as a way to practice digital animation, Don Hertzfeldt’s short film features deceptively simple stick-figure characters amid abstract backgrounds. Its macabre humor, delivered primarily through Julia Pott’s monotone narration as clone Emily, is interspersed by the amusing, unscripted recordings of Winona Mae, Hertzfeldt’s then-four-year-old niece, as the original Emily.
This element of childhood whimsy is integral to balancing out the film’s dark absurdism, paving the way for its core theme: life is precious, and the sadness permeating our day-to-day is a reminder to cherish it.
Bio Don Hertzfeldt
Two-time Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt (1976) is known for animated films such as It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012), the World of Tomorrow series, and Rejected (2000). His work received hundreds of awards worldwide. At the Sundance Film Festival, he is the only filmmaker to have won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice. After animating for over twenty years using traditional tools (pencil, paper, and 35mm cameras), World of Tomorrow was Hertzfeldt’s first digital production.
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- This film was #44 in the “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025