Oops! I've Been Driven Mundane
From the Archives
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Short Films, 16-Apr-2025
A hermitic stop-motion animator is tasked with caring for a collection of strange plants and a bullfrog. Nick Schoenbrodt directs ”Oops! I’ve Been Driven Mundane,” an eerie dramedy driven by its frantic lead and bold visual storytelling. Morkie rises in the morning, stretching her arms and letting out a scream. A busy day of stop-motion animation awaits, but a knock at her garage door suggests otherwise — her great aunt needs someone to water her plants and look after her bullfrog. Morkie’s morning continues and getting work done feels impossible with the amphibian filling the room with croaks. In an effort to silence the frog, Morkie receives a bloody bite to the hand. From there, we observe her clay-mated nightmares and her spiraling paralysis from the sonic distractions. Our main character, played by Diana Simonzadeh, has almost no dialogue but flourishes in Schoenbrodt’s monochrome world with a compelling presence driven by physicality and expression. -JM. Director: Nick Schoenbrodt. Cast: Diana Simonzadeh, Arlene Arnone. Director of Photography: Sam Garcia-Bryce. Editor: Xanthe Brown. Producers: Sofia Veraza, Sierra Thoulouis. Producer, Animation: Sawyer Sadd. Production Designer: Rivers Leche, Lily Micheline Kaplan.
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