Toby the Square Boy

Toby is a young square lad walking the streets by himself. Forcing his way into the homes and cars of strangers, Toby seeks out a family life that for some reason he lacks of his own. A simple animated story this one that doesn't offer a huge amount of narrative or food for thought. Essentially we see this young lad trying to find a family but being constantly rejected wherever he goes. It is slightly touching but it doesn't quite have the impact I would have liked because each of his interactions is more or less the same and it doesn't get deeper. The reality of Toby's situation is revealed at the end but again it didn't hit me.

The animation is cool though whether it be the imaginative design of Toby or the way the sets and backgrounds are set out. This aspect of it has stood up well over the last decade and it is still worth a look though because of how well it was done. Hawkins is not a name I recognise from other animations I have seen but I do wonder what he is up to now. Despite this though, Toby The Square Boy is quite an average affair because of the way it handles the material. Watch it for the animation, not the content, and you'll find it reasonably good.