"Friendly Shadow" | Dystopian Animated Short Film (2020)

Created by David James Armsby.
/ davidarmsbyartist
"Hello, Citizens of Autodale!"
"This Public Service Announcement is following ludicrous concerns and whispers we've been hearing as of late. Silly claims of monsters and other loathsome things living within our city walls!"
"There are no monsters here, citizens. Not in Autodale!"
This film follows a detective that Autodale's public knows as the "Friendly Shadow". Autodale makes an effort to keep the monstrous creatures that lurk outside their walls from entering the city but somehow, incursions and attacks are becoming more and more frequent as of late. It appears that one particular monster-breach got very violent very fast and the Friendly Shadow is sent to investigate.
This film was a colossal amount of work, as you can imagine. It's the longest animated film I've ever made. I've been working on this project for just over 10 months now and the number of sheer man-hours I've put into this one film is something I don't want to think about.
I'm extremely proud of this film, though. It's very near and dear to my heart. I think it's a decent film, with a decent story and I'm very chuffed I managed to pull it off. It's one of the most ambitious projects I've ever attempted and I think it turned out pretty awesome.
I REALLY hope you guys like it too! ^_^
Voice Actors:
Adrienne Cox - "Hive"
Kirie Quackenbush (TwistTVShow) - "Mother"
eeveeweavy
/ twisttvshow
www.dreamstorypodcast.com
Original Music composed by Rayshaun Thompson and Cameron Moody of "Controlled Noise".
/ musicbyrt
/ @cameron_moody
/ controllednoise
FULL SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE HERE!:
• Friendly Shadow: Origi...
MAKING OF:
Part 1: • Making of | "Friendly ...
Part 2: • Creative Process | Aut...
Part 3: • Creative Process | Aut...
This is the sixth film in the Autodale Animated Series. Here's the full playlist!:
• "Autodale" | Full Anim...
PATREON!:
/ davidarmsby

[@DeadSound]

I've been working on this project for over 10 months now. It's one of the most ambitious projects I've ever attempted and I love this thing to bits. It's one of my favourites of my films, if not my absolute favourite. I REALLY hope you guys like it too! :D CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE AUTODALE SERIES HERE!: kzbin.info/aero/PLZ5VEKOKH8PCjZJYvjlinBtjjmKV_-dk1

[@joywatson5522]

You did it this time, this is freaking AMAZING!!

[@Sparkle8205]

I’m so excited for the next video of this!! This one was amazing!!

[@uhhsophia6047]

Amazing, thank you for putting this out for us

[@fra604]

Pin the comment, I almost missed it!

[@damiel8342]

The friendly shadow was a human that new to much so the "hive" made him in to what he is now.

[@Knife_ToMeetYou]

“And he disobeyed” *AUTODALE BECOME HUMAN*

[@daisyjoy242]

deviant become human!!

[@15rachana58]

Ayy

[@nikooo1794]

This needs more likes

[@uuitsmeyeees8516]

I laughed way too hard at this

[@weirdlemur9478]

They stole my life, can't have shit in autodale

[@doinkaltexe7399]

“Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.” Hole in the wall: *are you sure about that?*

[@michaelfinlay1412]

All in all, it's just another hole in the wall

[@pericatt]

It's a hole in the wall It's a dirty free for all

[@pluggothesluggo5509]

sry to say this, but this isn't rly fitting the theme of the film AT ALL

[@nepinemi8885]

Finally, a memer who doesnt overuse jokes!

[@bred_slice.69]

I just got to that bit xd

[@rawcookiedough7518]

Shout out to the mother: all she cared about were her children being safe

[@verti3213]

In reality like Autodale she hadn't had anything else to care for other than her children. Is it true love of a mother or merely desperation of the person who wants to leave legacy as her life matters not much?

[@rawcookiedough7518]

@@verti3213 She probably did have real love for her children even if there was some of that was mixed with desperation

[@verti3213]

@@rawcookiedough7518 I just felt like to dig deeper into mothers love that while beautiful in reality like Autodale... There is nothing else to live for. All people are railroaded into very specific roles with specific planned enjoyment. Love is planned. It doesn't change value of dying mother to Shadow itself since her love is real and yet it's in itself Is sad that this is ONLY source of happiness that person can gain in Autodale.

[@rawcookiedough7518]

@@verti3213 :(

[@verti3213]

@@rawcookiedough7518 I would love to see story like Autodale where MC is simply powerless. Where there is no special MC cheat powers or place that can easily become MC goal to save the world of sth. Imagine that helplessness so, you live in this distopian reality, free yourself from Autodale in your mind... And what now? So you are "free" but what if you are freed from happiness? The price of freedom becomes happiness. And yet you grit your teeth despite helplessness and try to live anyway, against all odds, all helplessness.

[@PancakeTheKat]

“There are no monsters in autodale, the wall of autodale is just as impenetrable as the handymen who stand on it.” Gives me the same feeling as “there is no war in ba sing se.”

[@fizzyizzypop1300]

No but literally I was trying to remember what that line reminded me of thanks for jogging my memory

[@L.O.752]

Yea but difference is that Ba Sing Se was an utopia and Autodale a dystopia

[@fizzyizzypop1300]

@@L.O.752 to the citizens of autodale it’s a utopia

[@L.O.752]

@@fizzyizzypop1300 yea you're right

[@Sucullentbutter]

Pancake kat the earth king has invited you to lake laogai

[@eternal5930]

"There are no monsters in Autodale." "There is no war in Ba Sing Se."

[@casda5226]

There are no bodies in the water

[@gremlinton9815]

the great wall is impenetrable

[@wolfboi7104]

Life is eternal

[@stickers1539]

The rose wall can’t be breached. The Great Wall will not fall. There are no monsters in Autodale.

[@mc-yuu4205]

Gremlinton Meanwhile, Azula and friends with the Kyoshi Warrior’s clothes: Hah, you wish.

[@bloodsugar24718]

"There are no monsters, citizens. Not in Autodale." gives off the EXACT SAME ENERGY as "There is no war in Ba Sing Sei."

[@SivaExperiment]

that is because it is ba sing sei but isnt at the same time

[@librarianseth5572]

Freak Avatar confirmed

[@jibbs_aim]

"nothing gets through our walls"

[@taylorn.7087]

exactly what i was thinking

[@joshuarummage9643]

Yes

[@sadaderlangga17]

Dude, the ending gave me chills. She has attain one thing that the "citizen" don't have. Freedom, she now could see what Autodale actually looks like, and probably learns more as she grows up. I hope this is just the start, because I wanted to see Autodale fall and demise

[@simon_lukas]

Autodale will not fall... it stoot for tousands of years repeating its cycle. It's more robust than any empire in our wold and the people are happy with the system. Why should they rebell?

[@captnwinkle]

But, if Autodale was so bad, why did the monsters move in?

[@burgermr9821]

@@captnwinkle rescue mission maybe?

[@questarcher7921]

@@captnwinkle Curiousity.

[@fancygecko8936]

sadly, autodale will never fall. Well, not from the inside anyway. The citizens have absolutely nothing to compare their life to, and are very happy with it. The extremely few who aren't or even see through the lies are either killed or assimilated into the hive.

[@itssj974]

The mothers emphasis on “You’re a lot less scary without the coat” makes the Hive’s solution to “Give him the coat” at the end all the more chilling. As if she picked up on the subtle hints, even as a child, of how he seems to have less empathy and individuality when he’s wearing it. Phenomenal job with this!

[@thelilartzy]

Me: *Sees the sunset is another color other than gray.* Me: “AND GOD SAID-“

[@ravyntaylor6982]

SAME

[@the_mt703]

Yep! Next color to the palette!

[@addisyn9560]

L E T T H E R E B E L I G H T

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

LETTHEREBELIGHT

[@coffeejellysupremacy2199]

ᴸᴱᵀ ᵀᴴᴱᴿᴱ ᴮᴱ ᴸᴵᴳᴴᵀ

[@frogcultist2537]

“This isn’t one of your cartoons shadow” Animator: *sweats*

[@frogcultist2537]

Theo’s Random Videos oops sorry didn’t see that😅

[@madformuser]

S T O L E N

[@frogcultist2537]

Therussianman huh?

[@safiiyaa]

@@frogcultist2537 You stole a comment that now has 5k likes.

[@frogcultist2537]

Ess Kay I did??? Sorry I probably didn’t see it I don’t really read comments

[@Unknownplayer_0117]

I’m amazed Netflix or another streaming service hasn’t tried to sign a contract with the creator. This is an amazing film and it could serve as a pilot to an entire series.

[@Icetastesgood]

yes it definitely could and should

[@manglegamer6496]

Funciona mas como una pelicula

[@sordesmax6238]

nah, netflix will make disgusting garbage from this wonderful masterpiece.

[@liddumananayo1070]

@@sordesmax6238 Arcane and Nimona were big, so I doubt that.

[@erickpena1617]

!!!

[@szarywilk986]

Its so comforting to see someone so humane like Friendly Shadow in Autodale.

[@alexargueta5775]

One of the better details was when the “friendly shadow” referred to the girl and “freak” as both kids and both having parents, meaning he does humanize the freaks despite the matriarch referring to them as creatures the whole time Edit: thank you everyone for the likes

[@sheenaattwood9434]

another interesting thing is at the start hive said not to kill the adult freak because they could use it for research and at the end she starts gushing about how much they could learn from the kid because she doesn’t care about the girls death like shadow does or the freaks inevitable death in testing.

[@dapugloaf5999]

Also, in the behind the scenes of "don't feed the freaks" David says that the freaks represent normal people, and in my opinion, they don't just "represent" them.

[@joseisme1367]

Y’all think that the “shadow” was human before. Edit: nvm he was a human at one point.😂

[@joseisme1367]

Da Pug Lord you think the freaks were people at one point?

[@dapugloaf5999]

@@joseisme1367 No, I think they are people, but everyone who lives in Autodale has been "assimilated" so much that they can't help but see them as freaks. Not literally, it's more metaphorical, but there is some evidence against this theory. The small freak was still shown as a freak even after the little girl accepted him, and the friendly shadow still saw him as one, but I'm still sticking to my theory.

[@ChibiGeeBee]

"Promise she'll be joining her brothers, and NOT ME" chilling.

[@phosphrite9981]

I dont get it what does it mean?

[@lnept]

Welcome To Auto Dale My Friend... *evil laugh*

[@varietyaspens]

666th like

[@fireradier1090]

Phosphrite watch model citizen that should help

[@taylorfireflame]

Why are they gonna kill her?

[@MackingCheese99]

Finally skilled artist who doesn’t use their skills for *UNSPEAKABLE THINGS*

[@cornedbread3669]

Love the detail of the grass - in the beginning opening shot of the crack in the wall - looking like people crawling out from the ground; or grasping for life as they die. The grass strands on the left look like a person lying on the ground, while the grass strands on the right look like a person reaching their hand out to the sky. Truely even the smallest details are given extra care! A classic and amazing film series.

[@jaelyyymar8071]

The robot women at the ending were screaming about “the coat.” The mother said, “you’re not scary without the coat.” I smell foreshadowing.

[@moonsystem2041]

Yea, at the end I heard them yell "give him the cloak" I think theres more to that cloak

[@samcalliber4629]

"BIG COAT!" i heard one of them say that i cant unhear it

[@Hi-ul2gc]

And he only looked up when they said that I dont think he likes the coat. I think he likes his humanity, but what choice does he have? The hive probably sees all his thoughts anyways

[@hamburgerdog25]

Foreshadowing? What is this, continuity?

[@santaraposa4263]

It’s not a robot it was a exceptional citizen

[@aecholapis]

"Hello, citizens of Autodale..." _bursts violently through a wall_ *_Whomst'd've summoned the prettiest one?_*

[@mightypurplelicious3209]

*Whomst has chosen the chosen one?*

[@hydrashade1851]

i find it horrifying and amazing that they turn real events into fiction just by making it a cartoon and comic series. entertaining the masses and not scaring them, but people cant say they aren’t giving news about events

[@floricel_112]

You know you've been watching too much distopia when you see a drawing of the sun and your first instinct is "what? Really? Is even seeing the sun problematic now? Will the girl get murked simply for drawing the sun?" and you don't even register "oh, there's two monsters in that drawing"

[@hvhhvvguhbj.jhbhjjbjh1480]

this would make a sweet game. A robot detective in a post apocalyptic world where he’s programmed to think the freaks are evil and he slowly realizes that they’re not and that the robots that are made to protect, are.

[@AVALT-sq3wq]

It would be like a cousin to the Fallout games because this gives me major fallout vibes with the robots and in fallout the synths and the city is reminiscent of many cities in the game. If you haven’t played a fallout game I’d recommend it if you like the idea of this in a similar game version

[@boowilcox9858]

Detroit: become freaky

[@nataliad4378]

Reminds me of connor from detroit become human

[@Cynthianwings]

Nick Valentine.

[@MonaFlowers__]

Kind of like Detroit become human plus fallout

[@JJ-fl5kt]

Who else felt bad for the baby freak literally it was like “daddy?”

[@zygsevalatpw]

Me

[@sho.thatsit]

"DO I LOOK LIKE-" I'm sorry

[@sofula4693]

That made my heart throb

[@shaynabarnhard2274]

I got more of a "Mama?" vibe. But that works too.

[@chikarahaber9107]

@@sho.thatsit Lol

[@thejadesword2520]

I love how when he shot the mother you could hear clear, human, feminine screams under the animalistic, pained screeches.

[@ZonaLol0000]

"nothing gets in and nothing gets out" the little reminders they give us about how the city is like a prison but they dont yell it out just makes it so much more creepy

[@wheelspinproductions9214]

The “freak” child and the human child are both the same story from their point of view. The child had a parent killed by the other side, and so did the “freak”

[@andiworld]

But the girl see her parent as a monster so, they don't do the same

[@Zucchini05]

@@andiworld in the video it shows/says that the younger monster drew the people of autodale as the monsters.

[@andiworld]

@@Zucchini05 I though this girl was from the "children toys" episode

[@yeetpea5302]

@@andiworld That's a different girl.

[@roebear]

I liked the parallel between the adult monster and Shadow where they had both lost an arm yet continued to fight to protect their little ones

[@NatjoOfficial]

When the most human person in autodale is another robot, then you know this place is screwed

[@silver_sour]

the human just cant do anything agains them, i havent watch the whole series but that what i see correct me if i'm wrong

[@NatjoOfficial]

Silver_ Sour oh they can, they just don’t because they believe it’s normal life to be killed off for disturbing the machine that is autodale

[@silver_sour]

@@NatjoOfficial holy shit

[@tezlaactual6582]

Well technically cyborg the hive talks about how there's still organics in the friendly shadow

[@weremerp]

"Cyborg detective cowboy" Yeah, a cyborg.

[@IBigDickI]

We need a whole TV show with 4 to 5 seasons of this. I just want to see where this could lead.

[@Connection_Error-px7bn]

0:17 only after three/four years of this existing have i just realized that the moon's placement within the clouds here looks like a giant eye observing Autodale, with a second gap a little to the right forming the appearance of another. Absolutely astounding.

[@violetroyal5898]

“Hello Citizens of Autodale...” is both the most comforting and terrifying thing about this.

[@generalgrievous7203]

The freak will come to your nightmares

[@disappointedmess209]

I agree for the reason that its comfortable that nothing has change but its terrifying for the same reason

[@codyjohnson6427]

It's weird how that is the most fearful part, while the freaks are the good guys

[@bigboyart1]

I feel like that's the point of the phraze. It's meant to feel just off enough to put us on edge, but still comfortable enough to be believable as Propaganda media.

[@kodicore]

The most Terrifying part is the enunciation

[@jennyduong2466]

“There is no war in Ba Sing Se” has such a similar tone to “And Autodale is Safe.” Both terrifyingly ignorant to reality.

[@suntastesgood8782]

THATS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT!

[@zerotohero884]

Dude, soo true

[@annazeidman5187]

Not ignorant. Ignorant implies an opinion based on an incomplete fact. These are deliberate

[@psychedelic5263]

Oof ya

[@loolanshy]

What?

[@nerminiskenderli4656]

5:24 the pain in mothers voice when she kindly said "I know"😢

[@destructionfad7928]

It’s interesting that when Shadow was in “kill mode” he dropped the human mannerisms, such as moving his mouth while speaking and using facial expressions.

[@gretch23yearsago74]

Funny how she's actually safer outside of Autodale than on the inside.

[@jenprochazim]

we dont know...

[@creativeusername4605]

@@jenprochazim Yeah. See "Don't feed the freaks"

[@pa9030]

Why would she be safer? The outside could be even more dangerous

[@teabird7262]

p A watch the other short films

[@silvercat18]

The further one gets from the wall, the weirder it gets, to the point where she may, herself become a freak. Autodale is bad to us, but in the context of its world, it may well be the only safety left.

[@chilldemonlad2241]

The mother was scared for her child’s life. She knew that her child was going to die at the hands of the people she trusted. That’s horrific.

[@arsonhycan]

And morbidly fascinating. She wasn’t brainwashed, despite her society. Rlly odd

[@minibat7169]

@@arsonhycan not necessarily, it was like she was but she was disillusioned when her husband was killed and her child was taken

[@SmilingSmores]

@@minibat7169 I agree she was in shock and grief

[@hsmacaraig]

Shilah Morris yes

[@avalonsignoraalmas6150]

I would say that maybe she always knew what their reality was, but it was the only thing she knew, so she didn’t really have much of a choice. She had to trust it, or at least follow the path laid out for her, because that is what she knew they expected of her.

[@seagoddess9937]

Yoo the "Sometimes there are no good endings." marks Shadow's story really well. Such good foreshadowing.

[@1TinyTrex]

A truly horrifying picture of a dystopian world. I love it

[@mr_primeeditor7146]

Robot voice in the beginning of the mission: the girl isnt your priority Robot voice when shadow finds the monster: *FiNd ThE gIrL*

[@ADAJ342]

To be fair, the freak is already secured. So he moved on to his secondary objective.

[@lydiaisstillstrange]

I thought of it more as both distracting Shadow from killing the Freak while also moving on to Shadow's second objective as the comment above says

[@sophiaredwood5825]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! I paused the video at that part and went, “Wait, are you stupid? That’s precisely the opposite of what you said two minutes ago!”

[@secretbaguette]

PR. The 'tabloid heroics' are a lot more belivable if there are actual heroics to back them up.

[@anonymoususer775]

@@ADAJ342 **gets his arm torn off from behind a minute later*

[@mathieubach6851]

"Nothing gets in. Nothing gets out." Hole in the wall : " *Allow me to introduce myself.* "

[@redsquirrel4683]

Hole: "boi are you brain dead?"

[@botanybayful]

I've recently discovered the Autodale series. Shadow is such an incredible figure, but the freaks are absolutely amazing. Maybe it's because I'm a cat person but a creature with claws, a tail, a growl and glowing eyes makes me want to go "pspsps" 😂

[@raptorgaming5479]

The "monster" looks adorable, 10/10 would hug

[@darkstock5103]

Ironically, it seemed like Shadow was more human than anyone else. I mean when hive didn’t send him into terminator mode

[@cancerwoman7669]

Y E S

[@marsoop]

That terminator mode seems like a plausible reaction from a human to a life or death situation. That's just fear and adrenaline to me.

[@desmodius205]

That wasn't Hive. It was simply Shadow's robotic, ruthless side taking over when the Freak ripped his arm off

[@maxgamer553]

why does he look like nick Valentine a bit if nick was fixed up.....

[@springygamer6993]

@@maxgamer553 THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING

[@allisonthefox9900]

Friendly shadow really said: "The hive has elected a dicision but seeing as it's a stupid decision, I have elected to ignore it"

[@Arctic_and_The_F0X]

_give him the coat_

[@mr.potato2223]

AND GET THIS MAN A COAT

[@isarki09]

The only not stupid thing they have said is “give him the coat” cause he would look cool in a coat

[@ellal3554]

@@isarki09 The coat is what takes away his humanity.

[@isarki09]

@@ellal3554 understandable, coats make everyone look like a god

[@danielbarros4938]

this really should be a tv series, so damn good

[@user-fd1ne7vs3u]

Can we just appreciate that he put this masterpiece for free. Can we just appreciate that he put this masterpiece for free.

[@krismilstead4107]

"This isn't one of your cartoons, Shadow." _Ironic._

[@nopo9602]

I’m your 666 like :D

[@N1CKT00N]

Reminds me of fallout new Vegas and the synths of of fallout 4

[@joeybradley4352]

@@N1CKT00N Right? I was getting some serious Nick Valentine vibes from him.

[@shadowarmd9530]

Yah

[@monicaburke3638]

Lol

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

"There is no war in Ba Sing Se. He we are safe. Here we are free." "There are no monsters here. Not in autodale. Autodale is protected, Autodale is our home, and Autodale is safe.

[@stuffedcrust4441]

Joe has invited you to Lake Autodale

[@ludwigvanbeethoven5176]

@@stuffedcrust4441 And this Joe, would he happen to be JOE MAMA?! -Dorothy Zbornak

[@thenohacksandmoneyspending2210]

And it has a giant hole in the wall

[@beedrinkinghoney]

Oh damn

[@ishaan2216]

Judee

[@joannecunliffe8067]

David - this is absolutely fabulous! I just want you to know that. The characters, story and animation are brilliant.

[@ostapolkhovskyi3427]

Absolutely great. Watching this is like to breath fresh air in these times, when boring filler-shows just trying to copy each other. Fascinating. Love it.

[@doggone2842]

Anyone else interested that the woman during the interview said “You look less scary without the coat” and the hive at the end repeated “the coat, give him the coat!” Does the coat represent the loss of his humanity and compassion, and instead resembling more of an unsympathetic detective? Also, the commercialization of Shadow showing how he’s used as a puppet? Idk lol

[@Meow-ow6oh]

that's the point

[@stillpixel9233]

Get atta my head

[@averydae1810]

No no meaning

[@stephenstarr9045]

As an English teacher i can confirm that's exactly what the coat represents, and you are in no way reading into it too much.

[@sophiaredwood5825]

Yeah, I want to see what happens with that too

[@blitzzx2349]

am I the only one who saw the girl with the birthday cake and was like “OH THATS THE THING!! THATS THE DRAWING!!”

[@Maieveryday2]

No I saw that too! I started freaking out.

[@abyssmal]

Same here!

[@justanothergoth6544]

Same bro.

[@14thdoctor27]

I said that too!

[@smokyfoot5698]

Same here

[@Grnfinger]

Wow.... this was amazing. The story is riveting, the animation is extremely well done. About to check out the rest in the series I'm just blown away...you should be very proud of your work.

[@Epic98264]

After the attack when the sonic tv show was announced kinda shows the amount of attacks that have happened subtle yet noticeable

[@failpup2062]

**Sees birthday cake and little girl with monster** HE DID THE THING, HE DID THE THING!

[@twigthetroll9279]

THISSSSS

[@vanessatavarez8643]

Did what?

[@benpoole9505]

HE DID IT FINALLY

[@leocantaim]

Can I have context pls lol

[@vanessarachealsoto]

@@vanessatavarez8643 in every behind the scenes video he shows concept art and his first ever image of autodale is the image of the birthday cake

[@AJSSPACEPLACE]

It makes sense they’d create a vigilante, if they want to depict someone being a bit outside the rules, but still doing what’s good for society. You can’t have a regular citizen in this role, because you don’t want the average person thinking that they can operate outside the system. Yet you also can’t have a Handyman in this role; imagine how scared people would be, if they thought a handyman had the ability to disobey, and do whatever it wanted. So a cyborg is a nice middle ground, to settle on

[@ShankaDaWanka]

True, but clearly he was also too subversive for the matriarchs' liking.

[@Preposter]

Big brain

[@rehdit2306]

Vs more brain

[@RyanWithaZ]

enough humanity to relate to him, but enough robot as to distance him from a citizen

[@guyincognito3530]

I'm the 1k like!

[@WoodenBiscuts]

I like how he proceeds to shoot the beast several more times even after it’s dead for good measure

[@KaterinaDeAnnika]

This was Amazing! I'm working my way through all your films and your art style and sound design are just amazing. Thank you so much for this!

[@asoba_]

*the moment when you see a different color than black, gray, white, and red*

[@Frisher1]

WHERE I DIDN'T SEE IT

[@suleidil6251]

Sunshine at the end

[@henrystibitz8111]

@@Frisher1 It means someone's dead, blood is the only colored thing in the entire show, I think it's to highlight the pain.

[@radiowlet]

@@Frisher1 There's some yellow to the light

[@donotperceiveme]

Frisher Gisher plus candle at the beginning

[@tomatobruv76]

The sad part is that the Freak was simply acting how a true mother would. Defending their child till the end

[@santiagocortez9554]

It's because they're actually just humans too, but autodale tells everyone that they're monsters and that they should be killed

[@mikemagnus9447]

Did... He/She *just* say "Help me?" Edit: I've been wanting to cry whenever I remember this...

[@protagonistakun2407]

@@mikemagnus9447 you could just have used they

[@ishakedice2212]

A true human *needs* to kill A good human doesn’t need to kill A pure of something, is the death of other.

[@mashedpotatoes5176]

@@ishakedice2212 fax broo

[@JHV166]

As I spend hundreds of hours down these damn rabbit holes, it's RARE that I stop for a BRILLIANT video, storyline that is ORIGINAL, ARTWORK that is SUPERB, Animation that beggars description and allows me to thoroughly ENJOY a fantastic piece of film. You are brilliant and deserve far more exposure than you have. I will tell all my other subterranean friends to check out your work. BRAVI!

[@spacecase13]

I love the story, setting and feel of this. Darkly magical. Wonderful job!

[@DezAmmySel]

Oh thank god, one where an "imperfect" human actually _survives_

[@SoupsStudios]

DezAmmySel My left foot has a birth defect so, I agree, Glad to see an imperfect person live!

[@lohi4151]

Its going in a direction

[@fildariusv7045]

I feel like those who are aware of what horrible place they live in are the excepcional ones, as we saw a woman in another video running and she was classified as “excepcional”, and put with the hive mind

[@partycrashed]

@Jonathan Desrosiers not in reality, but according to the handymen

[@girlwithamic8021]

Honestly, I have at least 3 reasons why I’d be killed pretty much immediately so yeah I’m pretty glad too

[@nolanjoseph1553]

Lady: "The couple's third child, their daughter, was in the thick of it. And she is missing." Subtitles: *[Applause]*

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

XD

[@GimmeAweapon]

Damn, I need more of this. I love the world that you built. Amazing job

[@adamexenvironmental4468]

This was brilliant! Thank you for sharing this original piece of unique artwork. TOP SHELF!

[@emmamurray6299]

I loved how the girl saw through the creature's appearance and looked for humanity in it.

[@nightradiance7287]

It’s ironic how the humans show animosity and the animals show humanity in this dystopia

[@nas1055]

@@nightradiance7287 ^is it really ironic or thats how it really is

[@mieshahalemep3165]

YEAHHH SAMEE

[@renamcvicar]

@@nightradiance7287 but isn't that the way it really is? the word humanity does not necessarily equate to humane.

[@morijin6903]

"The mind of kids are more accepting of new things and change. The older humans, get the less accepting of change and fear it and with fear comes the rise of trickery, hostility, and an age of bloodshed" - me

[@mikenshin2013]

“This is not a cartoon...” SHE’S ONTO US

[@cyrus_deimos8147]

QUICK BURN THE FILES

[@sumi_luu]

Dylan but replies • 200 years ago AHHHHH!* people scrambled around getting stuff on fire * hurry!

[@Halo56Guy]

Dylan but replies • 200 years ago why do people have names like this where it saids 200 years ago or some other big or small weird number..

[@lordofshades9852]

@@Halo56Guy because it makes it look like they made the comment 200 years ago

[@ileanabriannemari]

@@cyrus_deimos8147 AHHH DESTROY ALL THE HARD DRIVES

[@kenl2861]

I really like the main character, the look and feel of the overall animation, the realistic motion of the “monsters”, and the B&W motif. Great job, I’d be willing to watch a whole series, maybe even buy the comic books!!

[@theviewer6889]

Well good news, there are other animations within the Autodale series. Not all featuring the same main character, each focuses on new people within the world of Autodale.

[@mohawkbonez7447]

Your creations are a trip. Loving your work

[@shogunpug4071]

Everyone is forgetting about the "coat" the mother mentioned. She said he's much scarier with the coat. And in the pp tower we heard majority of the council come to a conclusion and say "give him the coat!". The coat could perhaps erase all human emotion and put him in a "shoot first, ask questions never" mode. The next episode we might see him wearing the coat and hunting the girl down.

[@strawberrygoldfiish8606]

Saeed Smith AMAZING THEORY

[@synstylae4748]

Saeed Smith This comment legit made me gasp. That would be so chilling to watch!

[@nataliad4378]

Pp tower LMAO

[@hsmacaraig]

*pp tower*

[@cringe_shattles69]

*pp tower*

[@carterhofer9306]

I like how they gave more personality to the people and the monsters

[@bituin5908]

You can see it shine through too! I’m really glad he added such

[@AlphyYT]

Hello there

[@andyfog7444]

B R U H M O M E N T general kenobi!

[@carterhofer9306]

B R U H M O M E N T You are weak and I have the high ground

[@Gabe-xc7ig]

I too am a bruh

[@SnoriSnorison]

OMG! "There's a lot more to these creatures than we thought..." ?? THAT'S CUZ THEY'RE PEOPLE!!!!!!! What a terrific series this is--absolutely incredible and full of truth, pathos, even hope (though not for the citizens of Autodale!) Just amazing. 💗

[@kelvinsenteza]

This things is like one of the coolest I've found... it's depth makes me wonder whether here is all it features at!! Great work @DeadSound

[@thisdoesnotexist5246]

Robot lady: The child is not your priority Robot lady 5 minutes later: GET THE CHILD BACK TO HER PARENTS

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

Yup XD I noticed the inconsistency the first time I watched it

[@MarkATorres1989]

I think that might be the very clash of the bunch of minds that make up HIVE...

[@Ithtorukk]

@@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776 I'd say its more like they needed to tie up loose ends. If they had assumed the child dead, and she turned up back in Autodale on her own somehow, that would be bad. They sent him down to secure the freak and confirm the child's death.

[@Gwendolyn21may]

@@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776 I am pretty sure the robot lady said that because her parents where dead or going to be so -that means bring her to death

[@lostcolonyforge5792]

Well the freck was taken care of

[@nuclear9929]

"Nothing gets in, nothing gets out." Freaks: I'm boutta end this Hive's whole career

[@treyanimationz]

Freaks Pov : Yare Yare Daze

[@Veraronau]

Yephaha🤣

[@ethancohen6092]

TreyAnimation Z good grief.

[@ZedopeK]

hmm did you mean walls? because the wall has hole.

[@Asadfishwhodoesart]

The rising sun brings color into the short, other than the bright red of blood, in my opinion it means that the girl is walking into a new more colorful world.

[@Zordyn]

"There are no monsters here." Meanwhile, in the totally not foreboding spire outside the window:

[@kercollin1]

I love the detail of the girl giving the “Freak” a piece of cake like the drawing that started “Being pretty”

[@pokechatter]

"Don't Feed the Freaks"

[@hsmacaraig]

ikrrrrr

[@LadyArithia]

It was modelled to look just like it so lol

[@the_hanburger]

It's called a "freak"

[@thehogusha4342]

That was probably them grown up. Did anyone notice the freak in the original drawing had a scar on his shoulder, like where the baby got shot?

[@user-ne5ue8rd5n]

“The girl is not your priority.” WELL THEN LET HER STAY WITH THE ‘FREAK’!

[@dyingember3918]

They were going to bring the freaks in, so there would be no one for her to stay with.

[@khl0391]

deadlock kamen but if he just left with the first one no one would know of the younger one

[@Uniformtree000]

@@khl0391 they also could have seen human interaction with the creature as well

[@dyingember3918]

I doubt that the hive would even think of leaving either of them wandering throughout the city sewers, and while it's much easier to see them allowing them to stay together to see how they interact with humans, that would probably happen in a controlled environment and without the adult anywhere nearby.

[@baileyshep1644]

I am so glad this just came up in my recommended. This is absolutely amazing.

[@shazani18]

All in this is just excelent, the animation, the music, the composition, just all are incredible.

[@NTYohan]

*Clicks video:* "This video is probably going to be 4 minutes long...." *Looks at how long it is:* "OH MY GOD YES."

[@indublick8568]

Dude same its soooooo goood

[@meese3690]

So true

[@medical-cyanide1526]

What?

[@NTYohan]

@@medical-cyanide1526 I meant that, when I clicked on this video I thought that the film would be about 4 minutes long, but when I looked at how long it was it was 18 minutes long. (I was happy about it lmao

[@NTYohan]

@@indublick8568 Nice pfp lmao

[@4our31]

the way the friendly shadow just “auto piloted” when he was attacked it was disturbing, like a brainwashing but since he’s a robot you can tell he was purposefully made to do that yeah it worked.. kinda. offense was not the only option and it was kinda important that he kept the creatures alive. it’s primitive and band aid sort of approach especially in a “perfect” society this is sadly very real

[@raynehebert9265]

That wasn't auto-pilot. He was ordered to take the "monsters" alive. That seemed more like... the adreno-cortisol response

[@kyleaegis5613]

Take note of how they wanted to remove more of his humanity. I think the friendly shadow is moreso a cyborg. Like robocop. A human turned machine.

[@greatestcheeseofswisinswit3932]

Well he could have a human brain downloaded into the robot sense the motherboards in guess said that he has little humanity in him so yeah it guess

[@tamonk9054]

that made him more human to me because it was an attack out of anger and it was clearly emotional maybe when he was attacked that actually freed him up a bit

[@raynehebert9265]

@@tamonk9054 Detroit: Become Human

[@mrfrog0913]

I love how this series uses colour, normally red symbolises death/danger while yellow symbolises hope/curiosity, that's why there is so little of it.

[@feralbluee]

i don’t know why i love Autodale stories so much. it’s really a special and awesome series - and there is so much human emotion in the stories. thank so very much for creating it and for the incredible thought and creativity you’ve put into it. the Shadow is an eloquent and beautiful character, string, vulnerable, caring. he’s like a western hero - he’s like Shane. 🥀🌵 (i do hope you’ve seen that movie. he’s one of the classic western heroic figures.)

[@kiio1291]

I think the handymen killed the father and then the “Freak” attacked the handymen, given the differences between the man’s body and the handymen’s bodies. Also, the way the man seems to have been killed. If you remember one of the other films, they are killed by being knocked on the head and fall into a pit. The screaming was probably from the little girl after the handyman killed her father, and then the freak killed the handyman. Two more come to the scene and damage it, but the freak kills them. The freak retreats and shadow is sent to find the girl.

[@uknown1016]

True, you know the pit that the handyman hit the citizens over the head and they fall. The man was bleeding from his head. This theory is a theory I like a lot!

[@samuellee178]

This theory is underrated, I love it.

[@lazywibuuwu8467]

Cool theory but i don't think its true since handymen is robotic and thus does not do stuff like that. They follow order like everyday and don't have intention to kill since they have the pit for "the ugly"

[@SergieXD]

@@lazywibuuwu8467 Maybe the Handyman were ordered to kill the father because he saw the freak.

[@lazywibuuwu8467]

@@SergieXD but we have the pit such are what going to be the same with the mom. They have the pit to take away the ugly so why the robot have to do anything at that moment?

[@EnderHasEntered]

"Nothing can get in!" Except all of the everythings

[@nepinemi8885]

Good one!

[@notherelol]

They are just needing to remove the wall

[@adamosborne-smith6049]

This is a master piece. Well done David, something special here

[@keithshiban8837]

Outstanding. One of the best things I've seen in a long time.

[@jovanekiii]

*_I like how they made a kid friendly television show about the incident to make everybody feel safe._*

[@starman7773]

What a bold statement

[@deadaccount5427]

@Starman 777 why did this make me laugh

[@ThatWolficorn]

Lol yeah

[@jovanekiii]

@@starman7773 Lmao

[@sankyumiku]

@@starman7773 Lmao

[@jorted_julimak]

We don't know a lot, bit we do know one thing: he's a lot less scary without the coat.

[@Maieveryday2]

Yes. That is probably a important part of the story, I feel like it will come back

[@NewThink0]

That a fact

[@marlonperez132]

Im not shure about that maybe if it was said in the short film i could agree with you

[@aira9615]

i agree

[@podbenn_2605]

You speak for yourself there Mate !! Freaking Robot wearing a "cowboy" type outfit, Plus "Big Ass" Gun = Scary Robot to Me !! On top of Which - they makes Comix, Books and Shows from It's (FS) Real life Investigations ! And then top it off with 3 Borg Queens at the End ! I Call Scary AF!!

[@ezekielblack4065]

The story is so fluid, so perfect, so pretty. as are the visuals.

[@robertwilson973]

What a fun little story that leaves you wanting more. Great stuff

[@Occamiis]

Even more sad and terrifying when you realize in “Don’t Feed the Freaks”, the monsters were established to be people, who are unrecognizable as humans to the citizens of Autodale because they were from outside of the city.

[@josephcourtright8071]

If the people are told monsters are not real, then how did they condition people to see them as monsters. How is it able to rip steel like its nothing. "Don't Feed the Freaks" guy was a freak the entire time. He just didn't realize or maybe once was human. He lost him memory and likely suffered some kind of insanity. Its more likely one freak thinks he's human than 1000 human see people as the same giant monster.

[@AkariEnderwolf]

@@josephcourtright8071 I agree more with your theory than the theories that the freaks are actually humans and the freak body is the illusion. It just makes more sense that some freaks might have a form of mental state that causes them to see themselves as human rather than the other way around.

[@Occamiis]

Akari Enderwolf I really like this interpretation! But even more so, what if freaks are humans who started out as totally normal humans, but when they get to the “weird stuff” the narrator describes outside, they slowly start to morph and change into freaks, but they don’t realize that’s happening. Like some kind of supernatural radiation that turns you into a monster? Creepy.

[@lmendoza4995]

Joseph Courtright es[

[@bexb3557]

Jessica Fisher this has been my assumption too

[@lucasm.3864]

I like that the most human character we have seen in the series so far is a robot.

[@littelmissgaga]

Don't think he is a robot. They said "if we remove more of his humanity he will be another handyman" I guess he was human but made him like he is now. Turned him to a puppet. Into a cyborg.

[@kerentan9446]

and the citizens, when they're speaking/mask off/not looming statue things

[@flamingpi2245]

Wait… maybe he’s neon daddy?!

[@leekguitar]

what about the guy in “don’t feed the freaks?”

[@thomass2505]

Not a complete robot. I think he's similar to those body things we see in the tower. He's human... kinda. At the very least, he has a human mind, even if an artificial one.

[@KevinMacaringue]

This was a fantastic piece of art!

[@travisschaefer4723]

This was absolutely worth 19 minutes of my time! Love it 😊

[@AmjadDRs]

“Hello citizens of Autodale.” you know its gonna be good when you hear it

[@jubusch]

Amjadam but every episode ha- oh I get it

[@thederpydragonair2107]

when the monsters are the most human characters

[@Maieveryday2]

Yeah......It symbolizes that Humanity might not even be that great

[@confused5846]

I think the "monsters" are just outsiders

[@Maieveryday2]

@@confused5846 Maybe, but with this new short I'm starting to think they are actually a race that is intelligent

[@druidofthewolf5996]

i think the freaks were humans at one point but the out side change them made them something new i mean the outside is very freaky

[@numerals8939]

@@druidofthewolf5996 I think that maybe they are mutants, maybe the hive try to make a superhuman or a guard of sorts to keep the people inside by kidnapping and turning normal citizens into mutants but they instead.

[@AroundTheHouseShow]

This is an extraordinary piece of work. Incredible accomplishment. That it only took 10 months seems like a miracle. Hugely impressive.