Young Romance Turns to Torment in This Tense Animated Short for Day One

Global creative studio Lobo uncovers the subtle ways young love can turn into pervasive torment in the powerful animated short 'Sunshine' for nonprofit Day One, out of BBDO NY. The short shows a budding young love moving from the blissfully early stages of carnival-won stuffed animals and selfies to a gradually more jealous, controlling and abusive rapport. The piece shows the creeping and oftentimes subtle ways in which abuse can rear its head in dating, from an aggressive barrage of texts to deliberate physical assaults and everything in between.

The thought-provoking short launches in conjunction with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and is aligned with Day One’s mission to partner with youth to end abuse and domestic violence through community education, supportive services, legal advocacy and leadership development.

The upbeat 'Walking on Sunshine' pop track is juxtaposed with the subtly sinister direction of the narrative, initially aligning with the sweet early romantic moments but quickly turning as a dark backdrop to the pervasive abusive behaviours. The animated nature of the short, led by Lobo Creative Director Guilherme Marcondes, brings a universal appeal to the piece, allowing viewers of all ages and backgrounds to relate to the story and experience the disturbing realisation that abuse can often be lurking right in front of our own eyes - even in seemingly naive teen relationships.

“I wanted to ensure that the piece had a cinematic feel to it so that it could have a wider appeal and reach more people with this important message,” notes Marcondes. “It’s great to have the opportunity to create animation geared towards adults. One of the great things about today’s younger generations is that they completely embrace animation as their own instead of associating it with kids, which is evident with the content that is being produced by Netflix, etc.”