The zombie craze of the last decade has found people mashing up the walking dead with anything they can think of, often reading like a list of things the author saw while wandering around the house. Zombies and classical novels. Zombies and gardening. Zombies and babies.
Now, you can add zombies and corgis to the mix, with the release of this lovely short animation by CalArts student John Cody Kim. Titled Steadfast Stanley and animated with a pleasing sketchiness reminiscent of early Nicktoons and Cartoon Network, the short depicts the efforts of a roly-poly Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Stanley as he tries to make his way across an undead-filled city to reunite with his young owner. Despite the dark subject matter, the film is pleasantly lighthearted, with upbeat music that effectively taps into the slapstick inherent in a bunch of dumb dead bodies getting up and wandering around. And honestly, it’d be hard not to recommend a cartoon where a heroic undead-battling dog faces off against a pair of zombie dogcatchers.
Steadfast Stanley from John Cody Kim on Vimeo.