Jun 19, 2023

Ben Meinhardt's meta short "Living The Dream" is very accessible and should come with a trigger warning.

Sometimes, when faced with adversity, you just have to laugh. Ben Meinhardt's latest film, "Living the Dream," embodies just that.

This ultra-meta short film smilingly depicts the struggles of an animator who goes from gig to gig and struggles to make ends meet. Presumably the protagonist is Meinhardt, a character that will be relatable to anyone who has ever spent a week eating nothing but ramen noodles while waiting for their next paycheck.

There is a comedic disconnect in this short story between the outwardly cheerful protagonist and the dystopian nightmare in which he lives, and it is perfectly expressed. Everything is gray, buildings are crumbling, food looks like shit, and each background character seems to be hiding a bout of psychosis behind a toothy smile.

Meinhardt also makes the brilliant creative decision to include singing subtitles, creating nostalgia for the Disney VHS tapes many of us grew up with. The tuba-heavy soundtrack is the icing on the cake.

Meinhardt's latest work comes from a deep familiarity with the subject matter. He is a 2D animator with 20 years of experience who has worked on commercials for giant corporations such as Wal-Mart, MTV, Hasbro, and Toyota, and on television series such as "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law," "Ed, Edd n Eddy" and "Kinderwood" Kinderwood.

Meinhardt's interpretation of the cartoonish worldview is rife with exaggeration, and as he says in the video description, "Hopefully this won't get too old."