The Beauty - A Stunning Short Movie

“From the bottom of the sea

To the blossom of a tree

Every creature’s free

And so are we”

-The Beauty (2019)

“The Beauty” is one of the most eye-catching animated short movies that I’ve seen so far this year. “The Beauty”- As its title suggests, is a beautiful masterpiece. And it seems that other people also agree that this creation is deemed a masterpiece, as it won a total of 11 awards, including the Student Academy Awards in 2020.

It looks realistic and so eye-catching that the first thing that I said to my friend right after I finished watching it was, “That’s animated?!”. And if I have to say, one of my favorite scenes is probably the “jellyfish” scene, I just can’t get enough of how realistic and beautiful that particular scene was.

“The beauty” tells you about the beauty of the oceans, where plastics have been integrated into sea life and lays bare the insidious effect of microplastic as it enters the food chain and impacts the overall health of the ecosystem. With just a beautiful poetic narrative, Pascal Schelbli, the director, perfectly depicts what would happen, if plastic waste had become just another part of the ocean.

“Simultaneously stunning and beautiful” is what Pascal Schelbi describes as his creation. In a statement given by Pascal Schelbi himself, states the motivation behind the film:

"Instead of showing another mournful stomach full of plastic bags, I thought, ‘what if plastic could be integrated into sea life and nature solves the problem?’ The film should take you on a journey, where all our feelings of guilt will disappear. But in the end, we wake up and realize that we need to change something."

And the outcome? A stunning, yet scary result . As we all know, there’s now more plastic waste than fish in sea life. So, one might wonder, could what Pascal Schelbi imagined, become a reality in the near future?

You can watch “The Beauty” on YouTube or Vimeo for free. As well as more information about his other creations on Pascal Schelbi’s personal website.