Jason Sondhi

We generally don’t ascribe higher-level thinking to our animal brothers and sisters, but the monkey who is the star of Shaved It, knows something that many humans don’t—in the face of overwhelming strategic disadvantage don’t rail against your foe uselessly, change your strategy.

For our monkey protagonist, that means putting on a suit and taking an entry level job in the city. But he’s not selling out, don’t worry. Despite the luxury accoutrements: the watches, the boats, the women, Monkey is an idealist, and he’s playing a long game…

Shaved It is the first 3D narrative short I’ve seen from 3DAR, a commercial animation/effects studio in Brazil Argentina. Perusing their website, they’ve done work for some big brands in their native country, and I’m guessing that after the phenomenal internet success of this film, which debuted last month, they will not be suffering for business. It is incredibly polished, with superb style. Impossibly colorful, it displays a showman’s sense of reveal, with tons of z-axis sweeps and assertive virtual camera moves. It is the freshest 3D piece I’ve encountered in a while, and at a hyperkinetic 4 minutes, it doesn’t ask much of you either.