Here's a cute, clever, enjoyable quickie cartoon that marks the screen debut of Jimmy Murakami, the co-founder of Murakami-Wolf Productions.
'The Breath' is a weird cartoon: it doesn't look like nor sound like any other cartoon I've ever encountered, including Murakami's later work. The general appearance of this brief (4-minute) toon is bizarre, but enjoyably so. Mind you, if it went on to feature length, I might have gone berko.
Against a neutral background, a weird creature arrives, happily murmuring to itself in a kazoo-like voice. This creature proceeds to create an entire universe for itself from inflatable objects, which it fills with its own breath. The creature is not remotely human but seems at least vaguely male, so I expected that the payoff would be that this creature would inflate a she-version of itself. I was wrong. The ending is delightful, and unexpected.
'The Breath' isn't the funniest cartoon you'll ever see, but it's unique, distinctive, and clever. As it's so short, you'll enjoy its eccentricity. I'll rate 'The Breath' 10 out of 10.
