Private Project

Dumbo

The film starts with a boy named, Lito, who’s just sitting on his swing, alone. He seemed to feel a little left out from seeing the other kids playing with each other (without him). Then he finds this little, blue creature and got comfortable as far as naming it “Dumbo”.
He goes home with Dumbo attached to him to tell his mom about it but his mom is too busy on the phone to pay attention. His dad is only seen in front of his computer, busy and focused so he goes straight to his room. The story continues with Lito spending time with Dumbo; having it as company, talking about his day, school and even venting about having inattentive parents – all the while, Dumbo gets bigger and heavier.
One morning, he finds it difficult to get Dumbo up so he can go to school. Dumbo, at this point, has become heavier and larger for Lito to drag. Not knowing what to do, he gives up and stays in his room. He cries as he gets scolded by his mom for not coming to school (again) and accuses him of being a slacker.
Days pass and Dumbo has become larger that Lito can’t concentrate and is uninterested in class, and all he sees is Dumbo. He couldn’t even socialize and play with his neighbors when he gets invited because he can’t drag Dumbo along with him. As he comes home from school, Lito’s mom notices he looks sad and asks him what’s wrong. When Lito tells him about a monster following him around, she doesn’t believe him and tells him to go back to his room.
Lito cries in his room as he shouts how much he hates Dumbo and asks it why it couldn’t just to go away.
The next day, he comes out of his room to go to school, goes through his day with Dumbo stuck by his side. When he comes home, a vase breaks because of the massive size of Dumbo. His mom, startled, finds Lito crying and starts to scold him. But when he doesn’t stop crying, she finally asks him if there’s something he’s not telling them, and Lito cries out in her arms about how much he’s struggling and how tired he is.
His parents console him in an embrace as his dad apologizes and promises they’ll find help for him.

  • Jonica Aque
    Director
  • Ariane Semana
    Writer
  • Zyon Kierulf
    Producer
  • Kim Bautista
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Animation
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 28, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Country of Filming:
    Philippines
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director - Jonica Aque
Director Statement

Nica Aque is the director and the character designer of one of the main characters in the film known as, Lito.
Dumbo is a short traditional-animated film about a kid who unknowingly became depressed from feeling left out, alone and from having inattentive parents, which became too much for him to bear.
We made this film to give awareness and emphasize that not just teenagers but kids, as well, suffers from depression at a very young age. The team wanted to acknowledge kids that are often mistaken and misunderstood because of their lack of knowledge of their mental health or their mental illness.
The characters were drawn simple, plain yet cute so that the main focus would not only be in the physical look of the characters in the film but in its story as well. Mental health themed films are infamous and is obviously often used in many films worldwide, but the production believes that mental health awareness should always be talked about especially in different types of ways and different type of stories to keep on inspiring and supporting people suffering from mental illnesses.