Experiencing Interruptions?

Cooped

A sofa-bound dog is shocked to learn that a huge world lies outside the door— the maddening, unbreakable door.

  • Mike A. Smith
    Director
    Missionary (2005), Hominid (2004), Theology (2003), Lithos (2002), King Dog (2002)
  • Mike A. Smith
    Animation
  • John Morgan Askew
    Music
  • Cory Gray
    Music
  • Jason Edwards
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 5, 2014
  • Production Budget:
    3,600 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 2D or Not 2D Animation Festival
    Seattle, WA
    United States
    April 30, 2016
    BEST OF THE FEST, BEST 2D ANIMATED FILM
  • World Animation Celebration
    Culver City, CA
    October 25, 2015
    BEST TRADITIONAL ANIMATION
  • Banja Luka International Animation Festival
    Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    October 23, 2015
    AUDIENCE AWARD
  • San Francisco Independent Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    February 5, 2015
    BEST ANIMATION - Audience Award
  • Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
    Clermont-Ferrand, France
    February 1, 2015
    French Premiere
  • Encounters Film Festival
    Bristol, UK
    September 18, 2015
  • Animatricks Animation Festival
    Helsinki, Finland
    April 25, 2015
    HONORABLE MENTION
  • Regina International Film Festival
    Regina, Saskatchewan
    October 3, 2015
    BEST SCREENPLAY and BEST MUSIC
  • Holland Animation Film Festival - HAFF Jr
    Utrecht, The Netherlands
    March 18, 2015
  • Anima Mundi International Animation Festival
    Rio de Janeiro
    July 11, 2015
    South American premiere
  • Hamptons International Film Festival
    East Hampton, NY
    October 10, 2015
  • Northwest Animation Festival
    Portland, OR, USA
    May 16, 2014
    World Premiere
    FESTIVAL OPENER, Selected for BEST OF THE FEST program
  • London Short Film Festival
    London, England
    January 9, 2015
  • Fantasia International Film Festival
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada
    July 18, 2015
  • Shnit International Shortfilmfestival
    Bern, Switzerland
    October 7, 2015
  • Northwest Filmmakers Festival
    Portland, OR
    November 7, 2014
    Selected for BEST OF THE FEST Program
  • AnimaSyros International Animation Festival
    Hermoupolis, Greece
    October 5, 2014
    Selected for BEST OF THE FEST touring program
  • Athens AnimFest
    Athens, Greece
    March 26, 2015
  • Savannah Film Festival
    Savannah, GA, USA
    October 30, 2015
  • San Jose International Short Film Festival
    San Jose, CA
    October 10, 2014
  • VAFI – International Children and Youth Animation Film Festival Varaždin
    Varaždin, Croatia
    April 21, 2015
  • TAAFI - Toronto Animation Arts Festival International
    Toronto, Canada
    April 24, 2016
  • Animated Dreams - Black Nights Film Festival
    Talinn, Estonia
    November 21, 2015
  • Golden Kuker - Sofia International Animation Film Festival
    Sofia, Bulgaria
    May 4, 2015
  • Taos Shortz Film Fest
    Taos, NM, USA
    March 19, 2015
  • Durango Independent Film Festival
    Durango, CO
    March 4, 2015
  • Tehran Independent Animation Festival
    Tehran, Iran
    March 8, 2015
  • Golden Orchid International Animation Festival
    State College, PA, USA
    September 24, 2014
  • Northern Wave International Film Festival
    Grundarfjörður, Iceland
    October 18, 2014
  • ANIMOCJE Animated Film Festival
    Bydgoszcz, Poland
    April 13, 2015
  • International Festival of Contemporary Animation & Media Art - Linoleum
    Kiev, Ukraine
    September 9, 2014
  • Festival de Cine CreatRivas
    Madrid, Spain
    March 20, 2015
  • Lowcountry Shorts Festival
    Charleston, SC, USA
    September 21, 2014
  • Rendezvous Film Festival
    Fernandina Beach, FL
    June 5, 2015
  • Multivision International Festival of Animated Arts
    St. Petersburg, Russia
    October 24, 2015
  • Mecal Pro - Int’l Short Film and Animation Festival of Barcelona
    Barcelona, Spain
    March 12, 2016
Director Biography - Mike A. Smith

Mike A. Smith first started animating as a kid with a borrowed Super 8 camera and some plasticine, going on to work with everything from cutouts to paint-on-glass to Maya. From 2009 to 2011, he served as president of ASIFA Portland, the Oregon chapter of the international animation society.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Cooped is a paean to old-fashioned, rough-and-tumble cartooning. It was made using hand-drawn and digital techniques, animated frame-by-frame with an eye for the texture of physical media (pencil and crayon) and the rubbery energy of 1940s slapstick cartoons.